A castle in Wales is being brought back to life by a team of volunteers – led by a historian who fell in love with the building when he was a child.

Mark Baker was taken around Gwrych Castle in North Wales by his parents when he was young – but was devastated when it fell into disrepair after it became a popular squat in the 1990s.

Dr Mark Baker at the castle (Image: Daily Post Wales)

Now 20 years on the castle is slowly but surely coming back to life.

“I went there as a very young child,” said Dr Baker, now 32, who has written multiple history books. “I remember been on my dad’s shoulders. It was like a fairy tale it was so big.”

Gwrych Castle at Abergele (Image: Daily Post Wales)

Views from the castle (Image: Daily Post Wales)

It wasn’t just young Mark’s imagination, Gwrych is a huge structure.

The frontage is 1,500 ft in length and you have six miles of walls going round the estate. It was built by a Welsh gentry family that wanted to build a memorial to their ancestors so did a pick and mix of Welsh castles taking inspiration from places like Conwy Castle.

“It was sold by the family in 1946 because of death duties,” said Dr Baker.

“It was opened to the public and became really successful. But then in 1989 it was sold to an American who had the idea of turning it into an opera centre but he went under financially.

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“Then it was in good condition and you could move into bits of it.

“Throughout the 1990s it was asset striped. You had salvage people going in taking out fireplaces and doors, the top range stuff.

“In the mid-90s travellers moved in and took all the lead off the roof, stripped the slates off and then took all the floorboards wiring and glass out.

“What was left by the end of 90s was just a skeleton of a building. This is national heritage being destroyed.”

The state of the castle once the new age travellers left (Image: Mark Baker)

Dr Baker said he couldn’t believe his eyes when he returned at the age of 12.

“My first trip would have been in the late eighties,” he said. “I then remember going back a few years later when people had been in. It was like a nuclear fallout. There was used needles, abandoned vehicles and fire damage. It was an apocalyptic scene.

“I just thought that someone has got to do something here.

“I started researching and I wrote a book when I was 14 called the Rise and Fall of Gwrych Castle and started the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust to help save it.”

It seems that this heritage conscious teenager struck a chord with people and the campaign picked up steam.

“The campaign did really well and it was picked up by Newsround and the Big Breakfast- I got to meet Tony Blair and Prince Charles.”

Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust, which is a registered charity, has fundraised to help restore the house to great success.

Gwrych Castle near Abergele before and after a recent transformation (Image: UGC TNW)

(Image: UGC TNW)

The gardens before and after the renovation (Image: Mark Baker)

Dr Baker said: “The trust has a long term lease on it by the owner of the castle. So far we have resorted five acres of outbuildings and gardens.

"I find it amazing that 20 years of campaigning has helped do this.

“In another 10 years we would hope that the whole building will be fully restored and back to its former glory and will be completely open to the public.

“The restoration of the Gardener’s Tower will be a great transformation and the Countess' Writing Room was brought back to life, it was completely destroyed by building work in the 70s.”

When trying to make history alive the details are very important – and the trust has paid attention to them.

They are even bringing back some of the original flowers that grew at the castle during its glory days.

“We found the name tags for some of the flowers the countess had planted here in 1905,” said Dr Baker. “Those little details bring it to life.”

A newspaper clipping from when Dr Baker was a boy (Image: Mark Baker)

Twenty years later, Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust has a 25-year lease for five acres of the site.

The Countess’ Writing Room in the Gardener’s Tower being used regularly for writing groups, the formal gardens are regularly opened and were included in the Gardens North Wales Festival. The public are now able to explore via guided and self-guided tours daily.

Dr Baker said: “Our main aim has been to make the castle safe for visitors and locals alike.

“All of this would not have been possible without the team of amazing volunteers; some retired, some still at school, some voluntary, some as part of programmes from Job Centre Plus and other organisations, some with a love of history, some with a love of gardens, some to help with tours and events, some to gather archival materials.

“But the one thing all the volunteers have in common is that they love Gwrych Castle and work hard to restore, renovate and revive it. Without that passion none of this would have been possible.”